FIGHTING FOR OREGON

The Issues

Andrew Kalloch is the leader Oregon needs now to address the urgent crisis of climate change, the lack of affordable housing, the need for an education system and economy of opportunity that works for everyone, the rising cost of healthcare, long-overdue criminal justice reform, and protecting democracy.

  • Climate Change

    For too long, politicians have tried to address climate change by creating goals and future commitments without actually following through on those pledges or having a realistic plan to do so. This kind of leadership– one that places ribbon-cutting above results – has done nothing to slow climate change, while simultaneously undermining faith in the government’s ability to deliver results.

    Andrew will bring a new direction, the urgency of a young Oregonian, and the passion of a parent to the climate change issue and will treat it like the emergency it truly is. Unlike politicians in this race who have built their political career on corporate cash, Andrew has taken the No Fossil Fuel Money pledge and refuses money from Corporate PACs.

    For Andrew, climate change is not *a* priority– it is the through-line that connects all policy, from defense and agriculture to industry, land use, transportation and beyond.

    • Andrew will hold corporate America accountable by mandating disclosure of carbon footprint and enacting policies that require big business to do its part to solve the crisis. 
    • Andrew will be a leading voice in the movement to “electrify everything” from our homes and businesses to cars, planes, and trains.
    • Andrew is committed to bringing the power of public and private sectors together to vastly increase investment in wind, water, and solar power generation. Right here in Oregon, the Southern coast should be a laboratory for offshore wind technology and our public rights of way in the Willamette Valley (along Interstate 5, for example), should be model “solar highways.”
    • Andrew will boost federal investment in strategies (including the planting of billions of trees!) that can help reduce carbon already in the air. We can’t turn back the clock, but we can mitigate some of the damage we’ve already caused.
    • Andrew understands that fighting the climate crisis means changing the way Americans live every day. That includes making walkable, transit-rich neighborhoods more accessible to more Americans. Andrew will sponsor legislation allowing transit agencies to use land acquired around stations for affordable housing development (The Promoting Affordable Housing Near Transit Act) and leveraging the federal grant process to encourage housing development near transit corridors (Build More Housing Near Transit Act). 
    • Andrew will be a fighter for mass transit, from high-speed rail through the Pacific Northwest to more reliable funding for rural transit districts, fueling our economy while protecting our environment. 
    • Andrew will work with farmers across Oregon to make our state a testing ground for 21st century regenerative agriculture, which promises to make our food chain more resilient, more productive, and less carbon intensive.
    • Andrew understands America’s history of environmental racism and is committed to a just transition to a carbon-free economy that includes supports for lower-income Americans, including “carbon dividend” programs (as in British Columbia and as proposed in H.R.2307 – Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2021) and preferential access to employment opportunities in green jobs that pay family wages.

     

    Some of Andrew’s Past Work on Climate Change

  • Economic Opportunity

    Too many Oregonians are falling behind in the 21st century economy. While many politicians continue to fight old battles about Oregon’s past, Andrew brings a new perspective and a new direction to economic opportunity in our communities, one rooted in a forward-looking vision that builds on Oregon’s great strengths.

    • Andrew will sponsor legislation to fundamentally overhaul the Opportunity Zone tax credit program that today subsidizes luxury hotel/condo development in downtown Portland, while providing nothing to smaller communities in greater need.
    • Andrew will introduce legislation to create a federal tax credit to encourage remote workers to put down roots and build businesses in rural communities — drawing new capital into cities that have long been on the outside looking in as technology jobs boom.
    • Andrew will not only fight to bring wind power to Oregon– especially the South Coast– but will work with flagship universities to make SW Oregon a center for wind energy and innovation/entrepreneurship. 
    • With a brother-in-law who is a commercial lobsterman, Andrew knows first hand the challenges and opportunities of a working waterfront. He’ll be a champion for federal regulation that supports a thriving, sustainable future for the hard-working men and women of the “Blue Economy”.
    • Andrew will fight for a sustainable, community-based tourism that builds family wage jobs and makes the hospitality industry a pathway to the middle class.

     

    Some of Andrew’s Past Work on Economic Opportunity

  • Housing Affordability

    As the cost of housing continues to soar, families are leaving SW Oregon and our communities suffer from some of the highest homelessness rates in the country. Andrew has been a champion of affordable housing and will bring new ideas and new determination to solving this pressing problem.

    • For decades, the federal government has failed to meet the housing needs of  low-income Americans, leading to decades-long waiting lists for vouchers here in Oregon. Andrew will double the funding for vouchers by eliminating tax tricks that support millionaires and reinvesting that money into affordable housing.
    • Andrew will support Senator Wyden’s “DASH” Act, which creates new housing options for people suffering from homelessness and boosts funding for rural housing development rooted in green building practices.
    • Andrew will sponsor a national ban on source of income discrimination and increased penalties for violators.
    • Andrew will support federal investment in “Housing First” models for people in need and the wrap-around services (mental health care, substance abuse treatment, workforce training) required to put our neighbors on a solid footing for the future.

     

    Some of Andrew’s Past Work on Housing Affordability

  • Education

    As the son of public school teachers and the product of public schools, Andrew knows that education is the key to unlocking the talents of Oregonians of all ages.

    • Andrew will work with lawmakers from across the country to confront pandemic era learning loss by boosting incentives to states that expand instructional time.
    • Andrew will attack our literacy crisis head on, fighting for federally funded professional development for teachers that includes evidence-based reading instruction and data-based decision-making principles.
    • Andrew led a program that sent volunteers into Head Start centers to instill a love of reading, while working with private business and philanthropic groups to get books in the hands of every low-income child in the program. As a Congressmember, he’ll bring that model nationwide, getting books in the hands of every child, no matter their income or Zip code.
    • Andrew will bring together public and private sectors to develop curricula that prepare students for college and career and integrate opportunities for term-time internships across an array of industries.
    • As a Millennial who faced over $150,000 of student debt, Andrew knows first-hand the barrier of the high cost of higher education. He will fight for free community college, in-state tuition benefits for all residents (including Dreamers), and loan repayment assistance that includes a “bonus” for graduates who put down roots in communities outside major metropolitan areas.
    • Andrew will tackle disparities in attendance and graduation rates for Native American students by listening to the unique needs of indigenous people and their tribal leaders and marshaling the full force of the federal government to right these historic wrongs.

     

    Some of Andrew’s Past Work on Education

  • Health Care and Social Security

    Our failure to ensure that every Oregonian can access quality care when they need it has shortened lives, harmed businesses, bankrupted families, and raised the cost of living for everyone. As the next Congressman from Oregon’s 4th District, Andrew will work tirelessly to build a healthcare system that provides better care to more people for less money and to boost investment in programs that improve our health and quality of life.

    • Andrew strongly supports federal legislation (H.R.3775 – State-Based Universal Health Care Act of 2021) that would allow states like Oregon to experiment with proven health care delivery models– including universal, single-payer programs that have delivered better results at lower costs in countries all over the world.
    • We also need to treat the epidemic of mental illness among our youth like the emergency that it is. Andrew will fight to make sure that every youth in America can get the mental health treatment they deserve w/o copays or coinsurance.
    • Andrew will demand that Medicare be allowed to negotiate prescription drug prices to drive down costs for seniors. The VA already has this authority and as a result, its drugs are often half the cost of Medicare. 
    • Andrew will fight to close loopholes that allow businesses to avoid paying billions in Medicare taxes.
    • A former volunteer at Planned Parenthood and board member of his law school’s chapter of Students for Reproductive Justice, Andrew will continue to fight for a woman’s right to choose by enshrining it via federal law and constitutional amendment. He will introduce federal legislation cracking down on misinformation at “crisis pregnancy centers” that hold themselves out as medical service providers. 
    • Andrew will call for emergency regulation to allow for the distribution of free at-home COVID tests, including versions currently on the market in Europe. 
    • Andrew will demand that big retailers like Walmart sell kits at cost, instead of profiting off the dire need for COVID testing. 
    • The current tax that funds Social Security charges working class Americans more than millionaires. Andrew will fight to raise the cap on the Social Security tax from its current $147,000 to $1M, helping to ensure that Social Security is there for Boomers, Millennials, and beyond.

     

    Some of Andrew’s Past Work on Health Care and Retirement Security

  • Criminal Justice & Public Safety

    Andrew knows that America is still living with structural racism across many institutions, including the criminal justice system. As a former staff attorney for the ACLU’s New York chapter and a staunch advocate for cutting-edge criminal justice reform, Andrew is committed to making America live up to its creed of Equal Justice Under Law.

    • Andrew created “ClaimStat” a data-driven approach to monitoring and rooting out police misconduct. As a Member of Congress, he’ll bring ClaimStat nationwide, creating an early-warning system that protects our communities and ensures that officers who abuse their power cannot be hired again in law enforcement.
    • Andrew will support federal legislation to eliminate qualified immunity that has shielded abusive officers from accountability and left a stain on a proud profession.
    • Andrew will work with coalitions across the country to further reform sentencing laws that continue to have disparate impacts on communities of color.
    • Andrew will support federal investment in reentry services, including programs that prepare incarcerated individuals with skills and credentials they need to succeed upon release back home.
    • Andrew supports federal investment in community-engaged policing models and reconciliation commissions so that communities can move forward together, with a shared vision of public safety.
    • Andrew supports comprehensive, common sense gun safety legislation, including universal background checks, federal “red flag” legislation, updating gun dealer regulations, and a ban on “downloadable” guns that evade background checks.

     

    Some of Andrew’s Past Work on Criminal Justice and Public Safety 

  • Protecting Democracy and Voting Rights

    Andrew’s first-born is named Selma– an homage to his hero, John Lewis, who gave his life for American Democracy. At a time when the fabric of our democracy has frayed, we need a new generation of leaders who are committed to rebuilding it, one conversation at a time. From his days at the ACLU and beyond, Andrew has been and will be a constant voice for structural reform and voting rights for every American. 

    • Andrew will be a proud co-sponsor of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, shoring up the sacred right to vote for the next generation of Americans.
    • Andrew will fight the effect of big business on our politics by enacting legislation to overturn Citizens United and allow states and the federal government to regulate spending on elections. 
    • Andrew will always put country above party and will call for a federal ban on “closed” primaries and partisan redistricting. The American People should choose their leaders, not party insiders.
    • As a candidate who is committed to no corporate PAC money, Andrew will demand an end to “dark money” politics by requiring groups that spend money on federal elections to disclose their major donors.
    • Andrew will fight to end the revolving door between corporate America and big business by banning former Members of Congress from lobbying on Capitol Hill.
    • Andrew will support a ban on Members of Congress owning individual stocks.

     

    Some of Andrew’s Past Work on Protecting Democracy and Voting Rights